Why We Still Need Women's Centers: 40 Facts You Never Knew About Gender Inequity

Submitted by tranx473@umn.edu on Wed, 06/29/2016 - 11:02

At the Women's Center, we are often asked questions about who we are, what we do, and if the work we do regarding women's and gender equity is necessary. Our answer is unequivocallyyes. Around the world, the fight for equal rights for women (and all people) continues. While we gratefully acknowledge the progress that's been made for women in many arenas, there is still a lot of ground to cover. Here you will find some facts about the progress, the incredible inequalities we still have to tackle, and some of the organizations that are working to create change.

Read on to learn more about how you can join the fight for gender equity, and share widely! For a printer-friendly PDF version, click here.

62 million girls are denied an education all over the world.#UpForSchool wants to change that - sign a petitionhere.

Despite clear health advantages for the employee or student parent and child, and economic and family-friendly reputation advantages, many universities deal with lactation needs on an adhoc basis. Although the University of Minnesota is not yet a leader in this field (UC-Davis is the model), ourLactation Support page provides a start.

Rather than a glass ceiling, women professionals face a complexlabyrinth at each level i.e. routes full of twists and turns including vestiges of prejudice, conscious and unconscious resistance to women’s leadership/style (though the typical transformational style is more effective), expectations of long hours not compatible with children’s needs, and focus on the tasks v. critical socializing/networking (Eagly 2013).

Less than one-fifth of U.S. companies have 25% or more women board directors. About one in ten companies have zero women serving on their boards. Women of color hold only 3% of corporate board seats.

Women hold 24 (4.8% of) CEO positions at S&P 500 companies. Women held 7.5% of executive top earner positions, while men accounted for 92.5% of top earners.

In the 114th U.S. Congress (through January 2017), 20 of the 100 U.S. Senators are women and 104 seats out of 435 in the House of Representatives are held by women (76D, 28R) - just 33 are women of color. As of 2014, the United States is ranked 84 worldwide when looking at women in politics, well behind nations such as Cuba, Sweden, Germany, Afghanistan and China.

By 2018, there will be 1.4 million open technology jobs in the U.S. and, at the current rate of students graduating with degrees in computer science; only 29% of applicants will be women.Girls Who Code aims to educate and expose at least 1 million girls to computer science by 2020. (Microsoft Research)

In AAUW’s theSimple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap, we learn that white women who work full time earn approximately 78 percent of the wages of their white male coun­terparts. African American women earn only 64 cents for every dollar a white man earns, American Indian and Alaska Native women earn 59 cents, while Latina women who earn only 54 cents. Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women earn 90 cents to the white male dollar, but most AAPI ethnicities experience wage gaps worse than that of white women. The United Nations estimates that 75 percent of women with disabilities are unemployed. Marriage and parenthood are associated with higher wages for men but not for women.

Businesses/organizations can support equity in employment with fair salary practices, checking their implicit bias in hiring (Bohnet 2012), and by promoting women, family leave policies, and formal child care provisions. ThisInstitute for Women’s Policy Research Report ends with recommendations for employers and policymakers on how to create and retain female talent.

Only four countries in the world do not provide paid maternity leave to all workers: Lesotho, Papua New Guinea, Swaziland and the U.S. Paid maternity leave in Sweden = 15 months, Canada = 12 months, U.K. = 6 months. Businesses that create flexible work environments find that productivity goes up, turnover is reduced, and their bottom line improves. Paid maternity leave lowers child mortality, improves children’s learning and reduces juvenile delinquency (MomsRising).

In 2015, women make up only 24% of the persons heard, read about or seen in newspaper, television and radio news, exactly as they did in 2010 (known as “symbolic annihilation”). Only 9 out of 52 winners of the National Book Award for Fiction are women. In 2015 and 2016, all 20 actors nominated in the lead and supporting acting categories were white, spurring the creation of the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite by April Reign.

TheOped Project asks “Who narrates the world?” as they increase the range and quality of voices writing for media outlets.

American women serving as soldiers are15 times more likely to be raped by a comrade than killed by an enemy. TheService Women’s Action Network helps achieve equal opportunities, protections and benefits for women in the military.

Feminism is about deepening our understanding of how gender (and other identities) impacts our lives and experiences. The stereotype of feminists as shrieking man-haters is, frankly, sexist! “Whatever feminism you choose — good, bad, flawed, or half-assed — the label isn't something to fear. It doesn't mean you want too much or despise men. It means you believe in the equality and rights of everyone.” - Roxane Gay

Even many highly educated people are unaware of microaggressions such as everyday sexist language still in use, e.g. “you guys,” “freshman” and “fireman.” Practice using gender neutral language, such as you all, first year, and firefighter.

In addition to being about fairness, every state and city in the U.S. has the opportunity to further gender parity, which could add $4.3 trillion to the country’s economy by 2025.Check out the McKinsey Global Institute report on the six interventions that are necessary to bridge the gender gap.

Since 1960, the Women’s Center at the University of Minnesota has worked to advance gender equity across identities by providing educational, thought-provoking, and inspirational information and resources via our programs, initiatives, collaborations, advocacy and our social media. We invite your suggestions and strategies to speed up the work to reach an equitable world! Email: women@umn.edu